# Ryan Selkis

> Ryan Selkis is the co-founder and former CEO of Messari, the leading crypto intelligence and research platform. Known by his pseudonym 'Two Bit Idiot,' he broke the news of the Mt. Gox hack in 2014 that shook the crypto world, helped build CoinDesk and the Digital Currency Group, and spent six years publishing Messari's annual 'Crypto Theses' - the most widely read forecasting reports in the industry. He stepped down as Messari CEO in July 2024 amid political controversy, but remains an advisor and one of crypto's most influential voices.

- **Role:** Founder at NewCo / Advisor at Messari
- **Organizations:** Messari, Digital Currency Group, CoinDesk, ConsenSys, Good Benefits, NewCo
- **From:** Albany, New York, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Finance (cum laude), Boston College, MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation (dropped out), MIT Sloan School of Management
- **Known for:** Co-founded Messari, which grew to a $300 million valuation, Broke the Mt. Gox hack story in February 2014 - one of the most consequential scoops in crypto history, Helped grow CoinDesk revenue 730% in 18 months as Managing Director

## Career timeline

- **2008** — Graduated Boston College cum laude, joined JPMorgan Chase as analyst
- **2010** — Joined Summit Partners as venture capital associate
- **2011** — Founded Good Benefits, a workplace charitable giving startup; first heard of Bitcoin
- **2013** — Started blogging about crypto under pseudonym 'Two Bit Idiot'; enrolled at MIT Sloan
- **2014** — Broke news of the Mt. Gox hack exposing 750,000 missing bitcoins; dropped out of MIT Sloan
- **2015** — Founded TBI Consulting LLC, focused on cryptocurrency research
- **2016** — Joined Digital Currency Group; became Managing Director at CoinDesk, grew revenue 730% in 18 months
- **2017** — Joined ConsenSys as entrepreneur-in-residence; published first Crypto Theses
- **2018** — Co-founded Messari with Dan McArdle to bring transparency to crypto markets
- **2020** — Launched Messari Mainnet conference, the flagship crypto research conference
- **2022** — Messari raised $35 million Series B at $300 million valuation
- **2023** — Published Crypto Theses for 2024, 7th annual edition, warning of regulatory risk and celebrating builder culture
- **2024** — Stepped down as Messari CEO in July following controversial political tweets; remained as advisor

## Achievements

- Co-founded Messari, which grew to a $300 million valuation
- Broke the Mt. Gox hack story in February 2014 - one of the most consequential scoops in crypto history
- Helped grow CoinDesk revenue 730% in 18 months as Managing Director
- Published seven annual Crypto Theses reports, the most widely read forecasting publications in crypto
- Co-founded Digital Currency Group alongside Barry Silbert
- Built Messari Mainnet into one of the premier crypto conferences
- Angel investor in 13+ early-stage crypto and Web3 startups
- Raised $35 million Series B for Messari
- Created the 'Unqualified Opinions' newsletter at Messari

## Latest updates

- **2024-07** — Stepped down as Messari CEO following controversial political tweets; Eric Turner took over as interim CEO
- **2024-07** — Remained on as advisor to Messari and potentially involved with Mainnet conference
- **2023-12** — Published Crypto Theses for 2024 - seventh annual edition forecasting crypto's regulatory reckoning and builder renaissance

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanselkis
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/twobitidiot

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ryan-selkis
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-22